Mer Rouge
by Henry V
Summary: After TI, Humanity is fighting for survival. Three of our friends return, and a young girl makes her way through Life, or what is left of it.


**Mer Rouge  
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**Ch 1**

* * *

><p>A year has pased since the third impact.<p>

Evas, NERV and SEELE no longer exist.

Of 2.9 billion human beings, only 560 million returned form the red sea.

War broke out. World wide. Technology, medicines, food and water are the currency, exchanged in bloody battles and localized, merciless warfare.

Japan, with only 7 million souls, began to reorganize its defenses, using outdated war tactics and weapons. After invasion by Chinese forces, almost 200000 soldiers died defending the lower half of the island country.

Soon after, communications were opened, and a stale-mate between the two warring nations began; japan having drafted every able-bodied man, woman and child to defend what little they still had.

After two months of moderate peace, china's diplomat was assassinated. Blaming the Japanese government, china managed to extort almost all of japans resources from the people, leaving them the the few prefectures south of the Yamaguchi prefecture.

Now, with stretched resources, limited medical supplies, and rations as hard as stone, the Japanese military decided enough was enough, and drafted every single person into itself.

Japan was now a nation of warriors. And most of them where children.

Among the many officers, three strange figures seemed to make a sad example of the national pride; while others built their courage on the bloodthirsty dictatorship now over the small country, these few stood silently on, watching in indifference, coldly ignoring their surroundings.

Soon, these three were flagged as problematic, and shipped off to a small village in the south, out fo the way and forgotten.

The village in question was Kinko, where nothing more than farming happened.

Some say it was a blessing in disguise. Most of their time, the three spent passively watching their surroundings, making the men and women under them nervous.

Now, the three shared a small barracks of sorts built in the time just before the Third. Uncomfortable, cold but easily defendable, this collection of outdated housing and accommodations became the new home for these three.

And now, we focus our eye on not the three souls we know, but someone entirely new to warfare.

* * *

><p>Enter Sakura Suzuhara.<p>

Sakura, a girl once heavily devoted to her brother, now found that traveling was more boring than she could have ever imagined.

Not to say that she had gone through a lot in some ways, having been crushed once, killed, and then given the choice, had re-entered the world in hopes of seeing him once again.

Not only had the word treated her unkindly, but her brother had not returned either. She still, to the silent aggravation of all who tried to convince her otherwise, believed in him being alive. Stubbornly, she had chosen the path of a soldier, deemed unfit for active service at the front lines, and made her way as a clerk, having the rudimentary understanding of writing, reading and mathematics.

Supplies and resources being stretched as they were, she was hurriedly made a private and given the post of company cleric, of course only somewhere where her unskillful help could yield results.

And so, she had been sent to Kinko.

Barely eleven, the girl now traveled on a rickety electric train, starting out filled with military personnel and ending up with her alone in a state of abandoned misery.

Finally, she rolled into the small town.

* * *

><p>"You know damn well this won't do any good. What the fuck where they even thinking?"<p>

The voices where raised. Sakura hated that. It reminded her of her father and Touji.

"Look, we could use the manpower-"

"M_anpower!?_ Are you seriously saying that right now?"

"Yes, I am. As I was saying. We could use the manpower for the many things you don't want to do"

"Well, he won't do shit! And I have to clean up after hiss lazy goodfornithing-"

"ASUKA!"

Silence. Footsteps behind the door.

"Will you quit your moaning and just do as you're told? I have had it with your stupid little arguments, and if you can't get _him_ to do what he's supposed to, it's _your _ responsibility to get it done! "

A chair scrapes along the floor. Someone is standing up. The older voice sighs.

"Look, just get her in here, then we'll discuss what options we have. Okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. First I have to play taxi driver and now I'm just some secretary bimbo, huh? Well then, _major _Katsuragi, your wish is my command"

Sakura straightened up and stood at attention in front of her seat, rigid as a post as the door opened. The redheaded girl in the loose uniform only glared at her as if she was a nuisance and she was making sure she knew.

"Private, get in here"

Sakura gulped, hesitated as she picked up her belongings and stood before a small table, behind which sat one raven haired woman in a formal army dress, much more official than the girl staring (thankfully) out of the far window right now.

"So, who are you?"

"Uhm.. I'm here as a c-clerc… I guess…"

The woman raised an eyebrow. "You seem a bit young. How come ?"

Sakura blushed. "I.. think I'm pretty useless with the other stuff… I guess…"

Misato Katsuragi stifled a giggle as Asuka rolled her eyes.

"Yes, well, we all have to do our bit. I'm glad for the help, you know, … uhh, whats your name?"

Sakura… Sakura Suzuhara-"

The two superiors' eyes widened in shock, both now transfixed upon the girl in front of them.

"Y- what the.. "

Asuka pushed her back against the wall. And sakura felt fear rise up to her throat.

"What the fuck!?" the redhead stared into her face, fixing it with both hands, a mask of surprise and shock plastered over the scarred face.

"Uuuhh… "

Sakura began to weep, trembling lips preceding a small tear.

Misato yanked Asuka off the girl, and gave her a Look. Then she kneeled in front of the collapsed girl and stroked her cheek, trying to soother the girl.

After a moment, she looked back at Asuka, who was biting her nails and sitting in a spare chair.

"Find him. He has to know as soon as possible. Quickly, go!"

Asuka nodded and ran off, her hair streaming in the wake of her passing.

Misato was barely containing a sense of joyous ecstasy. In a world of loss, there would be one little miracle that could, maybe, change the boys way of thinking.

"There there. Don't cry. Come on, lets go get something to eat"

* * *

><p>Asuka kicked the tin can from the path.<p>

Ten seconds later, she picked it up and kept going towards the car park where her motorcycle was waiting for her.

"Gottverdammt. Why do I always get the short stick, huh? Maybe, just for once, I could get a friggin break and let that stupid pervert do the hard stuff. Jeez, I hate this job!"

She was about to through the can into the bushes before stopping herself. Glaring at the rusty thing, she groaned and kept going until she could see the covers of her bike.

After throwing the tin into the scrap metal, she sighed and pulled the tarp off the gleaming red bike.

"Hmmm. Finally get to use you again, huh. "

She stroked the gleaming tank, tracing her fingers up the curve of its old, but trusty shape.

Then she clipped her helmet shut and kicked the motor on, which roared in expectant joy as she revved it a couple seconds, returning it to a steady, throaty thunder that echoed across the hall.

"BMW… can't beat German engineering"

Her lips bent up as she contemplated that fact. Then she pushed the bike off its stand, and swung her leg over the seat to rest easily on the beating machine. Pulling her gloves over her fingers and goggles over her eyes, she hummed as the fumes filled the air with a wonderful smell.

Gripping the clutch and gas, she kicked it into gear, and with a grin of satisfaction, sped off down the road to find the useless brat and give him a piece of her mind.

And maybe a bit of her boot, if she had anything to say about that matter.

* * *

><p>There was a very good reason he was holding a turnip when Asuka rolled up to him, and all in all, he was helping the old couple gather the foodstuffs that would inevitably be carted of to god knows where, since all nourishment went over a centralized system that no one actually understood the reason for existing.<p>

As the motor approached, he let a slight groan out from his throat. But, since he knew she would probably just berate him like she always did. He kept his head down and kept at the job at hand.

There was no reason he should stop doing this, anyways. And Misato wouldn't mind, either. It wasn't as if he was not doing anything anyway.

The roar got closer, and the German was probably looking fro him, since the girl knew his usual hideouts off by heart. Not that he couldn't just change the place he spent most of his time, but this couple was _old_, and no one except their five year old granddaughter was there to help.

Said granddaughter was now jumping up and down on his back as the German girl approached, waving like a maniac while the boy contemplated his medical future regarding his spine.

"Hey hey hey bro, look! It's the demon girl! Deamon giiiiiirl!"

He smiled at the nickname and then stopped, as he remembered who he had shared the silly names with beforehand…

Kensuke… and-

"Hey ya big jerk stop ignoring meeeee!"

The girl grabbed his cheeks and shook him until the boy decked her with a turnip. Lightly.

This didn't stop the little brat from wailing and running around in a circle of self-pity. He rolled his eyes and thanked the gods her friends weren't around right now.

As he stood there, inspecting the turnip for a bruise, Asuka rolled up and flicked the motor off. Standing with her feet set wide on the ground, and her arms crossed, she glared at the scene.

"Still beating up small fry I see"

He sighed, put the turnip in the cart and glanced towards the two elders now advancing towards the youngsters.

"What is it, Asuka?"

She raised an eyebrow. "first name basis now? Gotten over your hissy fit, finally?"

He hated the fact that he wanted to punch her right now. So he wiped his brow with his forearm and took off his gloves.

"Not really. I'm just used to it"

She humphed. "Well, come on, we've got important business to do. "

He smiled. "Everythign's important with you. What happened? Did the Chinese cross no-mans land or something?"

Asuka shook her head. "Nope. Just get on, will ya? Misato wants to see you and…"

She hesitated.

"… what?"

He looked up at her, and saw something he hadn't seen in quite a while. She looked uncomfortable.

"… just hurry up and get ready, okay? I don't have all day, you know!"

Riding a bike was never one of his favorite things. And Asuka knew this. And he knew that she knew that. It was just one of the things she liked to do, one of the many small jabs at his self-confidence since they returned. Not that he minded much, since it resembled their relationship before…. But still, it annoyed him no end how she loved to take the last corner so sharply his knee almost scraped the tarmac.

Fifteen minutes later he stood at the door to his commanders office. Asuka stopped him before he go to the doorknob.

"Look, I just…."

Asuka was being real weird today. Her usual manner was outwardly still the same, but every now and so oftern he had caught her looking anxious, and now was just one of these times.

"Asuka… if I'm being transferred up the line, its okay. I won't stay here if they need me up front-"

She looked up at him, silently, angry and obviously holding back with al her might.

Then she sighed and shook her head. "No, its not that. Just…" she looked back up at him. And for a second, he saw soemthign resembling benevolence toward himself coming from the redhead.

"… try not to be too much of a stooge, okay?"

He gave her a questioning look, then pushed into the room.

"You sent for… m… me…"

It was like having a front-row seat in a slow-motion picture film. Misato stood up, and the girl turned around looking shocked and terrified at the youth.

Nobody said a word for ages. The two just stared at each other.

"S-sakura…"

She sniffed, a smile, forced through her tears, spreading over her face. A face he had never expected to see again.

"Touji"

He ran up to her, wrapping her into a bear-hug and fell to his knees, as she gripped him firmly, crying openly as he lost his wits as well.

Asuka glanced at her superior, who motioned her to retreat, and closed the door after her superior passed through the frame.

The woman motioned her to follow, and stepped out onto the balcony, drenched in the waning evening sun.

"They've got a lot of catching up to do. And rightly so. Its been a while since I felt so happy for someone"

She smiled at Asuka, who sighed and sat up ono the rail.

"I guess. I never had siblings, so I wouldn't know"

Misato ruffled Asuka's hair. "Oh come on. I'm your big sis, right?"

"No your not. You're just a lonely old Christmas cake. Shut up"

Misato stuck her tongue out at the girl. "You shouldn't talk like that to your superior officer, you know. I could lock you up"

"Yeah okay. How 'bout I arrest you for drinking on duty, like the two hundred times I could have before?"

"You're not gonna spoil my happiness today, Asuka. I think I'm gonna have a bath today. Wanna come with?"

Asuka sighed. "Fine. But no sake today!"

Misato grinned. "Okay"

"And no other alcoholic beverages, sweets or foodstuffs that make you grope me"

Misato's grin disappeared. "Jeesh, you're no fun! No wonder he won't kiss you!"

"Sh-shut UP!"

* * *

><p>I think its a bit on the soft side. But heck, better than nothing.<p>

Enjoyéz-vouz, meas amis.

H


End file.
